Mukesh Ambani's company did not get relief from SC, CJI rejected the petition, RIL will have to pay fine.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Mukesh Ambani-owned company Reliance Industries has suffered a major setback from the Supreme Court. In fact, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) against the order of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), in which the fine of ₹30 lakh imposed on two compliance officers of the company for not making timely disclosures related to the Facebook-Reliance Jio deal was upheld. The decision in this case was given by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

What did the CJI bench say?

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the SAT order and effectively affirmed the SEBI findings and held that RIL and its compliance officers failed to promptly disclose unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) in connection with the high-profile stake sale.

what is the whole matter

The controversy stems from a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) order dated June 20, 2022, which imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on RIL and two of its compliance officers – Savitri Parekh and K Sethuraman – for alleged violations of the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 (PIT Regulations).

SEBI observed that RIL failed to promptly and transparently disseminate unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) relating to Facebook's proposed investment in Jio Platforms Ltd, even though details of the same were published in the international media in March 2020.

According to SEBI, discussions between Reliance Industries and Facebook lasted until late 2019 and early 2020, culminating in a non-binding term sheet on March 4, 2020, followed by active due diligence.

There was a sudden rise in the shares

The two companies finally signed binding transaction documents on April 21, 2020, and RIL formally announced an investment of ₹43,574 crore on April 22, 2020. However, on March 24, 2020, Reuters, the Financial Times, and other media outlets reported that Facebook was close to acquiring a 10% stake in Jio – this news caused a sharp rise in RIL's share price.

SEBI alleged that when details of the proposed deal appeared in the media during the UPSI period, RIL should have immediately provided clear information under Principle 4 of Schedule A to ensure that all investors had equal access to material facts.

RIL had responded that at the time, Regulation 30(11) of the SEBI LODR Regulations—which governs the verification of market rumors—was discretionary, and the company was not obliged to confirm or deny speculative reports unless directed by the stock exchanges, so there was no need to issue an immediate disclaimer in this case. However, on May 2, 2025, the SAT dismissed RIL's challenge and upheld SEBI's findings.